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Merit-based immigration: Good idea?

While American entrepreneurs fret about the ramifications of an anti-immigration political climate, other countries, including Mexico, Canada and China, are sensing potential gains. (GILLES SABRIE / NYT)

Kelly Cunningham, National University System - YES: The U.S. currently accepts around 1 million immigrants each year as legal permanent residents, twice the historical average. Only one in 15 immigrate for employment reasons, most come on family-based visas, without regard to skills. The result is half of all immigrant households receive social welfare benefits. A skills-based points system, similar to those used for decades in Canada and Australia, identifies and attracts skilled immigrants. From an economic perspective, this is an obvious positive.